The Offbeat Bride: Helenia, Teacher

Her offbeat partner: Jerry, Software Engineer

Date and location of wedding: Danversport Yacht Club, Danvers, MA - April 11, 2015

Our offbeat wedding at a glance:

We decided to have an "Enchantment Under the Sea" wedding based on the dance from Back to the Future. We were both big fans of the movie before we met, and this theme brought excitement to our wedding planning. We wanted our guests to feel as if they were in the dance scene from the movie. We also wanted there to be references to the movie and a slight '50s vibe.

We kept our ceremony without Back to the Future references. We wanted the focus to be our love story. The reception was where we went all out with decor and references to the dance and the movie.

Tell us about the ceremony:

Both of my parents walked me down the aisle. My mother was so excited at being able join me during my walk down the aisle. She was very surprised at being "allowed" to walk me down the aisle and so happy when I informed her we could do what we wanted in regards to our ceremony. Our ceremony included the love story of how we met. All of our guests had the opportunity to find out how we met and how our love evolved. Many guests got a kick out of finding out we met while playing in a social dodgeball league.

Our ceremony included a reading by the groom's sister, "Let Love Be" by Melodie Beattie. We also had a wishing stone ceremony. We had stones at the seats of all the guests who were then invited to use the stone to make a wish for us and our future. Then they dropped their stones in a vase which we now keep in our home.

Tell us about your reception:

Our reception was the area of the wedding in which our theme came to life. We had a balloon company create under the sea scenery for the reception as well as bubble centerpieces. Our gift table allowed us to have our Back to the Future LEGO on display, as well as our "Save The Clock Tower Donation Can" card box made by my sister.

Our favors were sugar cookies with references to Back to the Future and the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. We had a DJ play music the whole night. We tried to include music from the movie; our first dance was to "Earth Angel."

Halfway through the reception, Jerry changed into his light-up shoes from the second Back to the Future movie. He was so excited to wear them!

As much as I did not want a line dance, I caved when during my bachelorette party "The Wobble" was played. The bridesmaids really wanted to dance to it at the wedding, and I ended up requesting the song from the DJ beforehand. The bridesmaids and I practiced the dance while we got our hair done and were ecstatic when it was played during the reception.

What was your most important lesson learned?

I learned to reach out of my comfort zone to ask vendors specifically for what we wanted. I remember being nervous about asking a baker for the cookie favors we had at the wedding and asking an Etsy vendor whose invitation work I admired to make custom invitations. I was so nervous about the reaction I might receive, but instead these vendors and others were very happy to provide the services we needed. Unusual requests are many times welcomed by vendors.

Also, my mom became a great planning ally after watching Back to the Future dubbed in Spanish. She was so supportive of the theme after she realized what we were trying to do and was able to make a few decorative purchases for the wedding with our theme in mind.

Vendors